1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for carrying hay bales. More particularly, the present invention relates to handles for carrying compressed and field hay bales.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hay is needed throughout the United States and the world to feed various livestock. Thus, the hay producing regions of the world transport and ship hay over great distances to other regions in which hay is not plentiful, but in which a need exists to provide hay to livestock.
Hay may be packaged in a variety of styles. For example, hay may be formed into "tightened field bales" that are generally transported only locally or over-land. In forming field bales, the hay is cut in the field and raked into windrows. A bailing machine moves along the windrows, picking windrows up the raked hay and feeding it through a chute in the machine. The chute progressively narrows through the bailing machine, causing the hay to tighten as it moves through the chute. Before being expelled from the end of the chute, the hay is bound with twine. Because field bales are tightened, they have some degree of cohesiveness and do not tend to completely disintegrate when moved over short distances. Nevertheless, field bales are bulky and thus occupy a relatively large amount of space. Accordingly, when transporting and shipping over long distances, particularly overseas, where the bales must be packed into shipping containers and loaded onto ships, it is necessary to further compact the hay bales.
Therefore, tightened field bales are not practical for use in overseas shipping in most applications, and thus the hay is usually formed into "high-density compressed hay bales." In forming high-density compressed hay bales, the hay is removed from the field and taken to a compressing facility, which has heavy-duty machinery, such as hydraulic compactors, that are used to compress the hay into small but heavy bales. The high-density compressed hay bales are bound with polypropylene straps or heavy-duty twine to hold them together. Because they are compressed under great force, high-density compressed hay bales have a much smaller volume than tightened field bales, occupying approximately one-half the volume of field bales with the same or even greater mass. This means high-density compressed hay bales take up far less volume in shipping containers and yet have as much or more hay, by weight, than field bales. The heavy compression and strapping allows high-density compressed hay bales to remain substantially intact when being moved overseas, even after enduring a significant amount of handling during the journey to the final destination.
While both high-density compressed bales and tightened field bales can be transported, it is difficult for a person to manually move or carry such bales. Frequently, when the bales reach their destination, persons, such as farmers, must handle and attempt to carry the bales. Yet, high-density compressed hay bales weigh between 90 and 150 pounds and are large enough that they are unwieldy for persons to handle or carry. Tightened field bales weigh between 75 and 150 pounds and are even larger than high-density compressed hay bales, making them difficult to handle as well.
This manageability problem in both high-density compressed hay bales and tightened field bales is exacerbated by the fact such bales have no expedient means by which to carry them. As noted above, high-density compressed hay bales are held together by straps or lines of heavy-duty twine that tightly surround the bales and help to hold them together. Yet, because the straps so tightly surround the high-density compressed bales, the straps are difficult--indeed, nearly impossible--for a person to grab. The size and weight of the high-density compressed bales, moreover, make it extremely difficult for a person to lift them. Hay hooks also do not work well for carrying and dragging compressed hay bales, because the hay is compressed so tightly that the hooks cannot be adequately imbedded into the bale, thereby preventing the necessary purchase required for hay hooks to work.
Similarly, conventional tightened field bales, which are even larger than high-density compressed hay bales with similar weight, are also equipped with twine straps that help to hold the bales together. Although the straps are not as tightly bound around the bales, they still do not provide an effective means by which to carry the field bales. The straps are orthogonal to the natural direction of the hand of the person carrying the bale, making the straps ergonomically incorrect and thus uncomfortable for carrying the bales. Moreover, although it is feasible for a person to imbed a hay hook into a field bale, because the field bales are not highly compressed, hay hooks are not completely reliable for carrying the hay bale; the hook may rip out of the field bale when it is lifted. In addition, hay hooks are extremely unsafe and hazardous and thus their use should be avoided.
Due to the relatively low-cost of high-density compressed hay bales and tightened field bales, it is critical for the carrying means or handles to be low-cost. If the handles are too expensive, either in material costs or in processing costs, they will be economically infeasible. That is, the costs will outweigh the benefits. Furthermore, because both high-density compressed hay bales and tightened field bales are heavy, the handles must be reliable and securely attached to the bales. If the handles are not reliable and either break or rip out of the bale, they will serve no useful purpose and, in fact, will reduce the value of the bales, as the bales will suffer damage when being carried or pulled by the handles. Finally, the handles must be easy to use.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus that facilitates manual (and even mechanized) carrying and handling of high-density compressed hay bales and tightened field bales, an apparatus that is also inexpensive and simple to use.